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Elephant duels were a historical martial practice where opposing army leaders engaged each other on the battlefield in single combat on the back of
Elephant duels were a historical martial practice where opposing army leaders engaged each other on the battlefield in single combat on the back of war elephant
A war elephant is an elephant that is Animal training, trained and guided by humans for combat purposes. Historically, the war elephant's main use was to charge (warfare), charge the enemy, break their ranks, and instill terror and fear. Elep ...
s. They are documented in historical records from Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, mainly in present-day Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
from the 11th Centuries and Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
and Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
from the 13th to 16th centuries.
Some authors describe elephant duels as a semi-ritualized engagement, held between high-ranking leaders of equal status to determine the outcome of a conflict in lieu of full-on fighting between large armies of comparable strength which would otherwise lead to massive casualties. Others apply the term to any engagement between mounted elites in the battlefield.
The practice in Southeast Asia is believed (as first proposed by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab
Prince Tisavarakumara, the Prince Damrong Rajanubhab (; Full transcription is "Somdet Phrachao Borommawongthoe Phra-ongchao Ditsawarakuman Kromphraya Damrongrachanuphap" (สมเด็จพระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธอ พ� ...
in '' Our Wars with the Burmese'') to have been influenced by the Sri Lankan Buddhist chronicle '' Mahāvaṃsa'', which describes a duel between Duṭṭhagāmaṇī and the Tamil king Eḷāra in the 2nd century BC. Probably by this association, duels were seen as a heroic deed that demonstrated a ruler's prowess and prestige.
The earliest mentions of elephant duels in Thailand are found in inscriptions and chronicles of Sukhothai and Lanna
The Lan Na kingdom or the Kingdom of Lanna (, , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; , , ), also known as Lannathai, was an Indianized state centered in present-day Northern Thailand from the 13th to the 18th centuries.
The cultural developme ...
from the late 13th century. The last duel in history—and probably the most famous, featuring prominently in Thai historiography—was that between King Naresuan
Naresuan (1555/1556 – 25 April 1605), commonly known as Naresuan the Great, or Sanphet II was the 18th Monarchy of Thailand, king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom and 2nd monarch of the List of monarchs of Thailand#Sukhothai dynasty (1569–1629), S ...
of Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to:
* Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767
** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom
* Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locall ...
and the Burmese '' uparaja'' Mingyi Swa at the battle of Nong Sarai in 1593. However, the legendary duel itself is likely apocryphal. Analyzing various primary sources, Barend Jan Terwiel in 2013 concluded that the confrontation did not involve a formal duel in the strict sense. In any case, the spread of firearms introduced by the Portuguese rendered elephant-mounted combat largely obsolete after the 16th century, and elephant duels subsequently disappeared from the pages of history.
References
{{reflist Warfare of the Middle Ages Dueling War elephants Military history of Southeast Asia Military history of Thailand Military history of Myanmar